Chemical & Engineering News interviewed Sue Ishaq, associate professor of veterinary sciences at the University of Maine, about the Microbiota Vault Initiative, a global nonprofit to preserve microbial variety. The vault will eventually stockpile backup specimens, but it will focus on vital microbiota — symbiotic groupings of bacteria, viruses, archaea, protists and fungi. “A vault creates a valuable resource and tool for research,” said Ishaq. “But it’s important to combine vaults with action to protect ecosystems and life on the planet, because we certainly can’t put all microbes in the vault and then consider our task complete.”
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